Jan Wheeler, Project Joy and Hope executive director, does the honors during the ribbon cutting for the program's official opening of its Tulip Project, facilities for families whose child is receiving hospice care or undergoing treatment at a local hospital. less

Jan Wheeler, Project Joy and Hope executive director, does the honors during the ribbon cutting for the program's official opening of its Tulip Project, facilities for families whose child is receiving hospice ... more

Photo: Pin Lim, Freelance

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Project Joy and Hope for Texas officially opened on Aug. 1 its facilities for families who have children receiving hospice care or undergoing treatment at a local hospital.

Project Joy and Hope for Texas officially opened on Aug. 1 its facilities for families who have children receiving hospice care or undergoing treatment at a local hospital.

Photo: Pin Lim, Freelance

Image 4 of 4

Pasadena-based Tulip Project helps families with ill children

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The doors have opened at the Tulip Project - a unique complex of duplexes designed for families with seriously ill children.

The facility is a major advance for local nonprofit, Project Joy and Hope.

The group has spent the past 13 years providing free apartments that serve as homes away from home for children who have undergone a transplant or need hospice care.

Project Joy and Hope executive director Jan Wheeler said the agency is expanding the program at 3215 Tulip in Pasadena - a street that serendipitously shares the name of her late daughter Valerie's favorite flower.

Greeting cards: Purchase greeting cards created by Valerie Wheeler. Proceeds support resource development for pediatric hospice programs. Each box of eight cards is $12.

In memoriam: Many people make contributions to Project Joy and Hope in memory of a special person or to honor someone special. When a gift is made in honor of someone, the individual will receive a special card announcing the gift and its occasion.

Valerie learned she had Ewing's sarcoma just a few months after her 13th birthday. Despite long and fatiguing treatments, she remained courageous and constantly touched her mother with her upbeat attitude.

"My daughter inspired me so much," Wheeler said. "Despite her challenge, she woke up every day hoping that day would be the best possible."

Valerie died in 1999. The experience in the hospital stuck with Jan Wheeler long after her daughter's final days in care.

"I was really concerned about the lack of programs for families. I felt like, as a community, we could do better."

Project Joy and Hope

Wheeler explained that she and her husband were retired when Valerie was undergoing treatment.

"We had a supportive community, spiritual support from church and good friends and family to help with our younger daughter," she said. "We didn't have to worry about work or about a babysitter."

Other families were in a different place, Wheeler realized.

"They really had to make some difficult choices to be at the hospital," she said.

One choice several parents had to make was whether to go to work or sit through treatment with a child. Sometimes, financial situations prevented them from making the decision they preferred, Wheeler said.

"When you have a seriously ill child, it's a very isolating experience," she added. "It's hard for people to know how to help you. I felt very strongly that there needed to be an organization that could lend that support."

Wheeler set her sights on developing the organization she envisioned.

"When you start any agency you have to have a vision," she said. "From that vision, you decide what your mission will be."

The name of the organization speaks to the cause Wheeler chose.

"The idea was to project joy and hope," she said. "You can have joy despite our circumstances. Hope can be transformed. You hope each day can be the very best possible."

A variety of programs

The nonprofit does whatever possible to promote the physical and emotional well-being of children with life-limiting conditions and to help their families through various programs and by increasing community awareness.

Wheeler gathered a group of business professionals to help develop the scope of work for Project Joy and Hope.

"We believed we could help take away the stresses many families face," she said.

Wheeler said then the group began to create programs. "They all started as pilot projects, then we expanded those we thought best served our mission," she said.

First, the group offered "Hope Houses" - the homes for children who have undergone transplants or who need hospice care.

"Shelter is our cornerstone program," Wheeler said.

Then, the nonprofit developed the Hope Scholarship Fund - providing scholarships for the siblings of children undergoing treatment.

"Siblings are often the unsung heroes and the forgotten family members during treatment," Wheeler said.

She started the scholarship fund by donating two $500 awards. Today, the nonprofit offers 32 awards totaling $45,000 each year. A total of $390,000 has been awarded to date.

Project Joy and Hope also provides the Family Assistance Grant Fund - which helps families throughout the state with children who require ongoing treatment for illnesses. The grant covers out-of-pocket costs for medication, hospital parking, meals, rental needs and utilities. There is also the Holiday Gift Program that provides presents and financial assistance during the holidays.

Project Joy and Hope offers parental bereavement support classes in a seven-week series called Helping Our Pain Ease or "H.O.P.E." There is also a classroom bereavement management program, training teachers to help grieving students, as well as a parent-to-parent support line, 1-866-JOY-HOPE.

Annette Baldwin participated in one of the workshops six years ago after the loss of her child.

"It was a wonderful retreat and kind of a turning point in my grief process," she said. "Jan brings in trained psychologists, and there are all kinds of workshops and little projects."

Baldwin also serves as a regional coordinator for The Compassionate Friends, a support group for parents who have lost a child. Baldwin said that her Katy chapter often sends members to Project Joy and Hope's retreats.

"It's very intense," she said. 'It's probably one of the most emotional weekends you'll ever have. But you learn to deal with it in an active instead of passive way."

Baldwin said she tries to support the group in any way possible. "You can't give back enough to someone who pulled you out of the darkest moment of your life," she said. "I can't say enough good things about them. Somehow having them there makes the process a little easier."

Moving forward

To continue its work, Project Joy and Hope hosts an annual gala and golf classic. Wheeler and her staff of two also write grants to underwrite costs and programs.

"There are only three of us, but we work tirelessly to make this happen," she said. "Our success is really driven by our volunteers and the financial support we receive."

Project Joy and Hope has a nine-member board of directors, many of whom have served since its inception.

The group gathered to celebrate the grand opening of the Tulip Project on Aug. 1.

"We felt we would better serve these families when all the housing is centrally located," Wheeler said.

The facility can house six families, in three-bedroom-and-two-bath homes. Participants must either be receiving hospice care or undergoing treatment at Texas Children's Hospital, MD Anderson Pediatric Cancer Center or Memorial Hermann Children's Hospital.

In the future, Wheeler envisions a community center at the front of the building where people of all ages can go for medical support.

"We want to be a source of support for the community - and also a beacon of hope," Wheeler added. "No matter what comes, there can be joy and hope and people willing to serve."